A judge on Tuesday expanded the powers of Casey Kasem's daughter to determine whether her father is receiving adequate medical care amid his ongoing concerns about the health and welfare of the ailing radio personality.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy ordered Kasem's wife, Jean, to comply with court orders allowing doctors to evaluate her husband, and also allow his daughter Kerri to see him. He also ordered Jean Kasem to surrender her husband's passport and temporarily suspended her powers to determine her husband's medical care.
Murphy's orders came after the second hearing in a week in which lawyers for Jean Kasem have said they could not disclose where Casey Kasem is located. Authorities found him in Kitsap County in Washington last week after Murphy ordered adult protective services to locate him, but the judge said the lack of additional information and cooperation troubles him.
The judge has appointed an attorney and doctor to evaluate Casey Kasem, but neither has been able to contact him or his wife. The former radio show host is suffering from a form of dementia called Lewy Body Disease, according to court records.
Murphy ordered last week that Kasem, 82, could not be moved without another court order, and he stressed on Tuesday that Kasem should be medically evaluated as soon as possible.
Jean Kasem was represented at Tuesday's court hearing by two attorneys from different firms, which added to Murphy's exasperation about the lack of information about her husband, his whereabouts and what actions she had taken.
"I'm not sure she's even complying with my order," Murphy said.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
The judge said Kerri Kasem could hire an unarmed private investigator to help find her father if necessary.
Samuel Ingham, an attorney appointed to represent Casey Kasem, said he was troubled by information he had received that his client had been removed from a medical care facility in the middle of the night and the lack of cooperation he had received from Jean Kasem.
Jean Kasem's attorney Craig Marcus pointed to statements by a sheriff's spokesman in Kitsap County in Washington that Kasem appeared to be receiving good medical care when he was located last week.
Ingham said Kasem's family couldn't know for sure until after a doctor evaluated him.
Kasem gained fame with his radio music countdown shows, "American Top 40" and "Casey's Top 40," and he was the voice of Shaggy in the cartoon "Scooby Doo."
